Ever since I started blogging here and running my own online business, I've tried to refrain from politics in any public online platforms. I've always felt that talking about religion or politics is a really easy way to end a friendship, and I applied that rule to the internet as well. Better to be quiet about the things I care about, or else people might not want to be "friends" anymore. I regret this. Immensely.

My senator, Cory Booker, wrote recently, "In the cause of justice: never stay silent just so that others can remain comfortable."

I don't know that my tiny voice could have made any difference in the years since I started blogging, but my silence spoke volumes. I am ready to change that now. And if you were/are in a similar state of mind, I hope you'll reconsider as well. This goes for liberals and conservatives. If we voice our opinions with a sense of consideration and respect, we can easily engage each other with the same level of admiration and camaraderie that we reserve for DIY posts and room tours. Politics doesn't have to be divisive. We can disagree about issues and still love each other.

With all that being said, I have a very heavy heart today. I'm worried about civil rights, health care, women's rights, and tweet-triggered nuclear warfare. I'm sad that we're replacing an intelligent, cultured, impossibly kind President with someone who doesn't read books, mocks the disabled, and sexually harasses women. I'm sad that my dreams of seeing a woman being sworn in today were shattered.

I've been wanting to do something more substantial than sitting home crying over Buzzfeed photo posts of President Obama playing with kids. I want to DO something. BUT... my introversion usually keeps me on the sidelines when it comes to any real organizing and activism. I'm sure a lot of other introverts (progressive or otherwise!) must have this same problem, so I put together a little list of things you can do that should hopefully fall within your comfort zone, while still making a difference.

1. Donate money. I feel like this goes without saying, but it's a great way to help out without being around other people. I didn't want to physically volunteer much last year, so every time I felt guilty about not doing phone banks or canvassing, I made a donation to Hillary. Even $5 here or there makes a difference in the long run!

2. If you're a maker, create a one of a kind item and auction it on ebay or instagram. Donate the entire amount (or entire profit) to charity. (A few organizations that could really use the help right now would be the ACLU, the NAACP, and Planned Parenthood.)

3. Create a challenge for yourself and set up a crowdrise fundraiser for charity. You can do literally anything. I raised over $200 for Random Acts a few years ago by chalking up my driveway for an entire day. It was just me and my brother, at our house, no socializing necessary. It can be an endurance test ("I'll pogo stick for five hours straight on periscope if you donate!") or a simple task ("I'll share a cooking video of my favorite apple pie recipe if I reach X amount of donations!") The sky's the limit.

5. Volunteer to do phone calls with an extrovert friend or relative. My dad and I teamed up to do calls for Hillary last year, and we developed a system where he would dial the number first and pass the phone to me if he got an answering machine. Then he'd start dialing the next number. This way I wasn't uncomfortable talking to a (potentially hostile, unfortunately) stranger but I still got to help out. We knocked out a ton of phone calls very quickly with our system, so I like to think it might have been even more effective than if I was making calls separately! :)

6. Volunteer from home with micro-volunteering. There are a lot of websites that list tasks you can complete from home. Some match you up with the task based on your skills and interests, and some just list various tasks based on their time or difficulty. Some suggestions are Help From Home, UN Volunteers, and VocaliD, an organization that lets you record your voice (from home!) so that people who are unable to speak can have a unique, human voice instead of a mechanical one!

7. Support the institutions that are currently under threat. Have your breast exam done at Planned Parenthood. Borrow books from the local library. Visit art museums. Watch PBS and listen to NPR. Frequent immigrant-owned businesses. Go to National Parks.

8. Participate in marches and rallies. You don't have to talk to anyone. If you're uncomfortable standing in a large crowd, hang towards the back. If you're going to a rally alone, bring a book. If you're marching alone (and it's not a silent march) you can always slip in one earbud so music can keep you company. Bring a large sign and hold it up high so you can just peek out over it. It's do-able!

9. Write letters to your lawmakers. Phone calls are apparently the best barometer of public opinion for Congress, but letters are your next best bet if you're an introvert. E-mails and tweets go mostly unnoticed, so write it up or print it out, put a stamp on it and mail it!

10. Art. This has been my own refuge the last two months and it can be yours too. Paint rally signs for friends who are more outgoing and active than you are. Make buttons and t-shirts and patches and stickers. Knit for charity (this is a cool idea!) Act in and attend politically relevant plays. Watch and review and recommend politically relevant movies (ie: A Face in the Crowd, Born Yesterday, Meet John Doe, Citizen Kane, Duck Soup, American Madness) Art is a sanctuary for those of us who cherish making it and admiring it. It's also a very necessary part of any thriving culture, and it's one of the things that is being threatened right now. So create it, stand up for it, buy it, enjoy it, support it. Now more than ever.

Ok, so the painting on my skirt is actually "Wheat Field with Cypresses" but I think Starry Night makes a much better blog post title. Either way, it's still Van Gogh!

I've had this skirt for so long that I don't actually remember where it's from, but I don't think I've ever worn it! I bought it years ago with the intention of wearing it on my next trip to an art museum and ... I guess that means it has officially been years since I stepped in an art museum (I didn't even visit The Louvre when I was in Paris! WHAT?!) You guys, I was an art history major in college! This is unacceptable! Stumbling upon this skirt in my closet reminded me of this egregious error and now I'm planning on making 2017 the year of the museum. I'll probably start with Princeton since it's closest (and free!) but I have my sights set on the Met. I went once, years ago, but I only visited the Egyptian wing.

Unrelated (although related to the outfit) but remember my New Year's resolutions? I finished the book I wanted to read (loved the first half, not in love with the second half, but I'd definitely recommend it anyway!) and I have stuck to my commitment to only buy vintage and/or bell sleeve clothing. I know its only 13 days in, but it's something! This shirt was one of the bell sleeved additions to my closet. This particular type (fitted past the elbow and then a full-circle bell at the end) is my absolute favorite so I had to snatch it up!

I've been keeping a good things jar since 2012 (which SOMEHOW was 5 whole years ago already!) and it's one of my favorite traditions. If you're not familiar with the concept, you just find a jar (or bowl or cookie jar, whatever) and throughout the year, whenever something good happens, you scribble it down and put it in the jar. On New Year's Eve you open it up and read through all of the good things that happened that year!

My 2016 jar was busting at the seams (the lid wouldn't even stay on, it was so full!) Of course I include the big things, like Paris and Rome and seeing The Killers in concert, but my favorite ones to read on NYE are the smaller day-to-day things that you might forget by the end of the year. My mom made me soup when I wasn't feeling well. I got ice cream with my dad in the summer. I helped my brother fix up the backyard before a cookout. I spent a night binge-watching tv with one of my friends. I also include inside jokes which, by the end of the year, usually make NO sense. I wrote down that me and my mom went "galavanting to find feminine needs" I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT MEANS NOW. I also write down funny stories, like the things that cause side-splitting bursts of laughter (which inevitably seem less funny than the laugh attack at years end, lol!)

I also throw in mementos like ticket stubs, wristbands from concerts, metro cards, and a seashell from each visit to the beach (I write down the date with sharpie on the back of the shell before I add it to the jar!) In January I collect up all the good things and put them in an album along with corresponding photos from the previous year. It might seem hard to remember to write things down at first, but it really becomes second nature as time goes on. I'm so glad I stuck with it, because once I wrap up my 2016 album I'm going to have five whole years worth of scrapbooks filled with good things and happy memories :)

I wore this on New Year's Day. I tried on a couple things before this that didn't really click and I just feel like there's so much importance attached to "getting things right" on the first day of the year, so I kept on trying on until this happened. And I think it was a great way to kick off 2017. Pink and bell sleeves, is there any better combination? (Okay, maybe french fries and pizza.)

I feel like coming up with New Years resolutions usually sets me up for failure (see this ambitious yet disastrous list from 2011) but I'm going to try my best to stick with a couple this year:

1 - Limit clothes spending to vintage and bell sleeves. My rationalization is that vintage is rare (especially when I find something I love in my size) and I might regret it if I let something special get away from me. Bell sleeves are my all-time favorite fashion trend (I even run a blog that's specifically dedicated to sleeves. I have a problem.) and I used to have such a hard time finding them. Now that they're in style again I want to snatch them up while I have a chance. So those are two spending categories that I'm allowing myself to feel guilt-free about, while I attempt to save up the rest of my money.

2 - Start running in the morning and eat relatively healthy. I'm trying something new this time around and I'm going to let myself keep eating things like pizza once in a while. I feel like every time I start dieting I go too far, cutting out everything except cucumbers and spinach, and then I just make myself sick. This time I just want to be more conscientious about what goes in my mouth -- lay off mindless snacking, eat when I'm hungry, and make healthy (but still delicious!) choices.

3 - I recently bought this book for my first read of 2017. I haven't even started it yet, but a couple times that I've started getting myself worked up over something stupid I've just said the book title in my head, almost as a mantra or something, and the little panicking troll in my head shut up for a while, lol.

That's about it! I think those should be manageable. It'll be kind of depressing if "read one book, still buy clothes but limit them to two categories, and still eat bad food but try to be ever so slightly better about it" isn't do-able, but I'm definitely going to try...

Happy New Year! Yesterday my New Year's Eve dress came in the mail just in the knick of time! (talk about perfect/very last minute timing!) This is a vintage beauty from the 1970's, totally bedecked in sparkles, with dolman sleeves and a gorgeous light blue chiffon sash. It's like Elsa from Frozen meets Marlene Dietrich in Vegas. I love it. It is, however, totally unzipped in the back. I told you guys, I ate WAY too many Christmas cookies last month. I ended up having to wear something else when I went out to dinner last night but I wanted to take photos in it anyway :p